1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a gaming machine for playing a common game in groups and a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in gaming facilities in which gaming machines such as slot machines are installed, players can enjoy games by inserting a variety of gaming mediums such as coins and cashes. Each of the gaming machines is designed so as to pay out a payment according to a winning prize (game outcome) that takes place in the progress of a game.
In a casino in which a plurality of slot machines are installed, there is a so called “jackpot” from which, after part of the credit consumed in each of the slot machines has been reserved, if the amount of the reservation reaches a predetermined amount of money, a large amount of payout is made such that a payment is not paid out to any of the slot machines in an ordinary hit (see Published US Patent Application No. 2003/073486, for example). In such slot machines, in the ordinary case, a hit takes place at each of the set probabilities, and players conduct games while anticipating the hit. By means of a lottery other than that of the ordinary hit, which is based upon each of the probabilities set in the slot machines, a jackpot hit will take place on any of the slot machines with a predetermined timing.
Further, a system is also proposed in which, while a plurality of gaming machines is defined as one group, credit is reserved cooperatively in the group to establish a fund of a jackpot, and thereafter, a common game (link game) is performed when lottery of the jackpot is performed. In such common game, players in the group participate simultaneously, so that they are allowed to motivate rivalry and maintain their interest and concern for a long time.
However, the common game is not always performed, and is performed with a randomly determined timing, for example. Therefore, the conventional gaming system entails a problem that, if control devices, which perform processing pertinent to the common game, are incorporated in game machines or in groups, the availability of each of the control devices is very low, resulting in a wasteful system configuration.
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstance, and aims to provide a gaming system and a control method of the gaming system in which, after a timing of starting the common game is adjusted in groups, while the common game is executed in one group, if a timing of executing the common game is established in another group, the execution of the common game in another group is postponed, whereby the processing pertinent to the common game performed in a plurality of groups can be performed by means of one control device, and further, hardware resources can be efficiently utilized.